John mathieson



(.No Model.) v J. MATHIESON.

SHUTTLE BOX MEGHANISM FOR LOOMS.

Patented June 4, 1889.

WIT/VESSEQ N PETERS, PhowLimv m nu. Washington 0, C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MATlHIESON, OF GLASGOIV, COUNTY OF LANARK, SCOTLAND.

SHUTTLE-BOX MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 404,640, dated June 4, 18 89.

Application filed November 8,1887- Serial No.254,662. (No model) Patented in England April 14, 1887, No. 5,407, and in France July 9, 1888, No. 184,708.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN MATHIEsoN, overlooker, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Bell Street, Calton, in the city of Glasgow, county of Lanark, North Britain, have invented certain Improvements in Shuttle-Box Mechanism for Looms for lVeaving, (for which I have obtained patents in Great Britain, No. 5,407, dated April 14, 1887, and in France, No. 184,708, dated July 9, 1888,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mechanism em ployed to control the movements of the dropboxes in looms which are adapted to change the shuttles during the weaving process, as is well understood. In such looms the several shuttles are contained in boxes, which are raised or lowered as may be required to bring any particular shuttle into use, and to effect this raising and lowering with certainty and correctness and without shock or violent action is the object ofmy'invention. I connect the drop-box with a rocking lever, which can be moved upon its fulcrum into any one of several positions corresponding to' the number of shuttles, the said movement being regu- 'l'ated by means of vibrating'leversor arms,

which act upon the said lever to move it into the required position, each arm being adapted to move the lever into a different position. Each arm is provided with a hinged hook, which is connected with a suitable pattern chain or barrel or pattern mechanism, which governs the action of the parts. A bar or rod is caused to reciprocate, or is carried by an arm or by arms or by avibrating frame which is acted upon bya crank or tappet. As the said bar or rod vibrates, one or another of the said hinged hooks is moved into position by the action of the pattern mechanism to engage with the said bar or rod for each change of the shuttle, the consequence being that the connected arm will be caused to move upon its fulcrum and thereby to act upon the dropbox lever.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the parts of the new motion as they appear when looking toward the end of the loom. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the parts as they appear when looking toward the front of the loom.

As the loom itself may be of any ordinary or suitable construction, no part of the loom appears excepting the parts which are immediately connected with the new motion.

In the drawings, a is the said-vibrating lever. Z) to b are the said arms, four in number, and A is the drop-box.

The lever a is mounted upon a fulcrum at c, and one end of the lever is connected by a link (I with the drop-box. The other end of the lever is formed with a curved face a,

upon which bowls 1 to 4, carried by the vibrating arms b 5 act to move thelever. These bowls differ in distance from the common fulcrum e of the arms, so that each arm hasa different action upon the lever. To each arm Z) is hinged a hook f, which is connected by means of a rod or wire 9 with alever h, there being four of these levers, one for each hook. These levers are mounted upon a fulcrum at i, and each is provided with a pin j.

The barrel of the pattern-chain It is carried by a lever-frame Z, which has a lever-arm Z, which is-connectedby a link m with a crank 11 upon thetappet shaft, the effect being that the pattern-chain barrel is moved toward and from the pins j. Any pin which has not presented to it a hole in the pattern-chain'is pushed upward by the movement of the pattern-chain barrel, the effect being that the corresponding lever h is moved upon its fulcrum and the connected hook f is drawn in a direction toward the right hand in Fig. 1. A lifting-bar 0 is carried by arms 0, which are mounted to vibrate upon an axis at e, which is also the fulcrum of movement of the arms I), as aforesaid. The said lifting-bar 0 is connected by a link 19 with a crank upon the tappet-shaft. In the example the crank n,which actuates the arm Z also actuates the liftingbar. As this bar vibrates, any one of the hooks f which is drawn to the right hand, as aforesaid, is caught by the lifting-bar and is lifted thereby, as in the case of the hook marked f, the result being that the connected arm is moved from the position of the arm I) to the position of the arm marked 1). The bowl upon this arm is at the greatestdistance IOO from the fulcrum e, and determines the position for the lever to move the drop-box to its highest position or to keep it in such position. A spring q acts upon the lever a and tends to raise the drop -box. A curved face 0. is formed upon the lever to, and is concentric with the axis a of the lever. Abrake 0", fixed upon a shaft 7", is kept pressed against this curved face by the action of a cam s, which is fixed upon the tappet-shaft. This cam, by depressing and holding down the end of a spring-lever t, which is attached to the brakeshaft 0*, keeps the brake pressed upon the face a during the revolution of the cam, excepting at the time when the lifter-bar is in its highest position, as indicated in the draw ings. At such times a flat upon the cam relieves the pressure upon the brake-lever, and the lever a is then free to yield to the action of the spring if not prevented from so yielding by one of the bowls upon the arms I). WVhen the parts are in the positions represented in Fig. 1 the lever is prevented from moving by the bowl at.

To render the action more clear I will number the bowls on the arms I) 1, 2, 3, and -l. 011 the lifter-bar 0 moving downward the bar I) would be released and fall back into the position of the bar I). Supposing the arm carrying the bowl 1 to be next lifted, the lever would be moved to the full extent of its range of motion and the drop-box would be lowered to its lowest point. So long as the said arm continued to be lifted the drop-box would be stationary; but supposing the arm carrying the bowl 2 to be lifted, the brake r at the same time being eased, the spring would be free to move the lever until the said bowl stopped the movement, and the drop-box would fall one step, or into position to bring the second shuttle into action. If the arm carrying bowl 3 had been lifted, the drop-box would have fallen two steps to bring the third shuttle into action, and so on, the drop-box being either lowered by the action of the bowls or raised by the action of the spring into positions governed by the bowls. The studs carrying the bowls are adjustable in slots formed in the arms, as indicated in the drawings.

Although I prefer to use bowls or rollers revolving upon studs fixed to the arms, in order to reduce friction, such bowls are not absolutely necessary. In the example the connecting-link of a peculiar formation, be

ing adapted to release its hold upon the lifterbar in the event of an obstruction to the movementsuch, for example, as would be caused by the jamming of a shuttle in the shuttlebox. A stud or projection at u is fixed to or formed in the said frame 0 in line with the bar 0, and is gripped between two jaws p p, which are formed by the hinging of a part 1) to the link 1). The two jaws are drawn together like a pair of nipper-tongs by means of a spring 1;, which is of sufficient power to enable the link to perform its ordinary work. In the event of an excessive strain the jaws open and release the stud, so as to prevent the breakage of any of the parts.

I do not confine myself to the exact formation of the lever a, so long as it is adapted to be acted upon by the arms 11 to raise or draw downward the drop-box.

Having fully described my invention, I would state that what I claim is- 1. In a loom drop-box motion, the lever a,

the operating-spring, and the drop-box connected to the lever, in combination with vibrating arms provided with hooks, pattern mechanism controlling the hooks, a lifter for the hooks, and mechanism to operate the lifter, all substantially as set forth.

, 2. I11 a loom drop-box motion, the lever a, the drop-box, a spring to raise the drop-box, a brake to hold the lever, a holding or releasing oam or tappet controlling the brake, and the arms vibrating to raise one arm of the lever a, and thereby to lower the drop-box, in combination with hooks on the vibrating levers, pattern mechanism acting on the hooks, a lifter-bar, and means for operating. the latter, all substantially as described.

3. The drop-box, the lever a controlling the drop-box, vibrating arms of varying length to rock the said lever on its fulcrum in one direet-ion,and a spring to move the lever in the other direction, in combination with pattern mechanism for "selecting the arms to be'vibrated and with hooks connected to the arms, a vibrating lifter-bar, and mechanism to op crate the latter, all substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

J OlIN MATIIIESON.

\Vitnesses:

PETER lVlA'lHIESON, JAMES J'. INGLIS. 

